The present invention relates to overrunning roller clutches. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in retainers or cages for the clamping rollers of overrunning roller clutches
It is already known to provide in an overrunning roller clutch a one-piece molded plastic cage which defines several windows or pockets for the clamping rollers. The cage has two axially spaced-apart rims and a set of axially parallel bars which connect the two rims to each other and define therewith an annulus of pockets or windows for discrete clamping rollers. Each window contains a spring which is integral with the adjacent bar and bears against the clamping roller in the neighboring window. Reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,312 granted Feb. 10, 1976 which discloses a cage wherein each spring is a flat piece of plastic material having one end portion integral with the corresponding bar in the region of one of the rims and a second end portion which can move toward and away from the corresponding bar and bears against the clamping roller in the respective window.
A drawback of conventional cages is that the space requirements of the springs, as considered in the circumferential direction of the cage, are substantial because the springs always extend into the corresponding windows or pockets. This renders it necessary to employ smaller clamping rollers or to reduce the overall number of clamping rollers in the clutch. In either event, the ability of the overrunning roller clutch to take up stresses is reduced which is particularly undesirable when the clutch is relatively small or very small. The ability of a small overrunning roller clutch with a small number of clamping rollers to transmit torque is unduly limited.